Hi,

I have been reading a lot of posts here about poor starts, having to turn the ignition twice for car to run, having to turn the ignition and wait to 10 seconds for the car to run, and then even after the car starts some cars are stalling or hesitating at lights etc. It is unclear whether it is based on software, a belt, cold weather, failing to turn of electical equipment when parking, or some combination of the above.

This is causing me some concern about the order that I've placed. If you do not mind sharing, how many of you have had one of these problems without having it remedied? If I make this a poll I would have but I do not see that option.

Please share if you have had one of those problems.
If you had, did you find out or figure out the actual source of the problem?
Was or is your car an automatic or manual transmission?
How many of you thought that it was fixed but regretably found that it was not fixed?
How many of you have had it "permanently" resolved?

Thanks again for your time and for sharing your experience. And if someone here knows how to convert this to a poll please do so or tell me how I can do it. Happy motoring to everyone.

 

I don't have this problem on my wife's R55 Clubman (Manual), R52 Vert (Auto), or the R56 MCS (Auto.

 

I read through about 20 pages of comments about the starts. The people with all the knowledge must be on vacation or given up on their cars.

 

I have had my JCW since May... It has started on the first try every single time, this includes the frigid winter so far....

 

We have had our 10 Clubman for over two months. We drive it every day and have yet to experience any starting concerns. Plug the fob, push the start button, and it has started without hesitation each time. There is a bit of response delay when you press the accelerator however we have adjusted as others have posted. It is a sweet and exhilarating little rocket that makes us smile when behind the wheel, as you will learn shortly. No need to hold your breath.

 

Same here, no issues with my 08 MCS, it's always warm here though...

 

Other than the knocking sound that I thought was the chain tensioner issue but apparently was just because the car was 1qt low in oil, everything's fine with me!

 

Woke up to 5 degrees this morning , plugged in the fob , pressed the button and started right up ...
Theres no turning the key with these as they are pushbutton start

 

Almost 7 months and 7,000 miles totally glitch free in my '09 MCS convertible. Every start has been clean regardless of if the temp is high 90's or less than 20 deg.

The danger of any message board is we read of all these problems with no way of knowing in a fraction of one percent or 80% of the vehicles are affected. It is a given that most boards are more likely to get posts about problems rather than when everthing is fine. If you check out boards of other makes - even Honda - you will read some creepy stuff.

I have had no regrets whatsoever about my purchase and I enjoy this car more than any I have ever owned in my over 30 years of car ownership. Good luck!!

 

I occasionally have to push the start button twice in a row. The first time the car doesn't even start fully. It seems to be independent of temperature, and even then it's never that cold here in L.A.

I hope that this issue does not recur often or become something worse. I'm bringing it in yet again on Tuesday, this time to get the driver's side window fixed (it doesn't seal closed completely so drops of water come in when it rains hard) and will mention the double start thing, see what they say.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

 

No problems for me, even with temperatures on the lows 10's (we had some nice couple of cold days this past week)

 

15 months 36,000 miles on my 09 and from temps in the 100's down to the mid 20's I have never had a starting or stalling issue

 

GN2 -- you aren't crazy. I, too, have read many posts on different forums about these problems. It comes down to whether you happen to get a "bad" Mini -- it's simple luck I suppose. They certainly are not as reliable as a Honda or Toyota, but some people never have problems.

I, unfortunately, am one of the people that has had problems with the car, and there are clearly a good amount of other people who have, too. I called my dealer this morning and actually spoke to the lead service guy who told me that yes, startup issues are indeed an acknowledged problem that some experience and that they'll take a look at it and try to fix it.

It comes down to whether or not you're willing to take a chance! The car is such a blast to drive that it's probably worth it for me, assuming they fix all of the problems I've had in only the first 750 miles (yikes!) with my Clubman. I'm hoping that after this happens I'll be able to feel more confident about the reliability.

 

I have a March 09 Clubman and have put over 11K miles on it so far.. Temps presently in the 20s. I have had no issues at all.

 

To the OP.

One thing you MUST remember is that on forums like this you WILL see a number of post about one specific subject but in most cases less than one one hundredth of one percent of the population or <.001% of the cars out there.

I have over 35000 miles on mine and only had starting problems once. The outside temp was -7 with wind chills of -45. The car started and stayed running but ran rough for about 30 seconds. This would very possibly be the case with any car at those temps.

 

That's definitely a valid point, schatzy62. However, when the lead mechanic at my dealer told me that this was a known issue for them (not with all the cars, obviously), I could see that it wasn't a chance thing.

It's awesome that most of the people here do not seem to have any these problems (I wish I were one of you!), but according to my dealer it's an acknowledged issue...

 

What exactly does that mean "known issue"? One car had the problem and they knew about it?

There have been some issues with bad gas, and some with bad high pressure fuel pumps. More than likely your car has a failed part of some sort, it will be found and replaced and you'll be good to go.

I can't speak for your dealer, but so far all but one response in this thread has been positive - add mine to the list. '09 MCS, no issues.

Chances are pretty high then that the OP's car will be fine too.

Funny how you never read a thread like "Worried that my new car won't have any problems to complain about"

 

Ok, ok, no one's trying to make Mini look bad here, I'm just telling you what the mechanic at my dealer said. He obviously would not have said it if only one car had had that issue, considering that it costs them to fix it.

Just as no one else on this particular thread has supported this, there are people on other threads and forums that do support it. Those who don't have it have nothing to worry about. Excellent!

We don't know what the chances are, given the inaccuracy of message boards on these things. I'm just saying that the problem does exist for some. The OP will probably be fine, but the truth is that the problem exists for some Mini owners - he wanted reports and I gave him my full and honest one.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I have to say I do feel a bit better. Hopefully some of the people who had their cars fixed will say whether Mini made it right for them.

 

I seriously doubt you'll have anything that needs to be made right, GN2.

I think worrying about it now is akin to worrying that an airliner will fall on your house, or that an earthquake will swallow you up whole....

As to Headlands comments that it must be serious since his mechanic knew about it, I don't follow that logic either. Mechanics are supposed to know about things like this, doesn't mean 5 or 10 or 20% of the cars have that problem, doesn't even mean .001% of the cars have that specific problem.
At no time does he say we've fixed hundreds of those or any such thing.

Much ado about nothing in CN2's case, IMHO......

As for Headlands car, I hope they resolve it quickly for you, but that's what warranty is for.

 

Eh, I'm not going to try to explain it any more, except to say that he said that Mini (the company) is aware of the problem, not just the mechanic himself; I should have written that more clearly. They're going to fix it under warranty, end of discussion. Carry on!

You'll most likely be fine, GN2!

 

I have 09 Clubman S Manual for almost a year now. Never had any of the problems you mention! You shouldn't worry it too much until you get the car. I think each car is different than others, even tho they should be made to be the same...

Then again, if you worry this much, why did you still order the car? You know you just gotta love the Clubman!!!

 

Very true, sir.

 

It is right you ask questions concerning possible deficiencies or overall reliability. Some regardless of reliability reported in Consumer reports , for example, will buy a car simply based on the styling and etc reasons and...good chance they will be okay reliability-wise as well. But there are others, including myself, that will weigh many factors checking out many resources that are available to at least make as best an informed decision as I can. This did not stop us when we years ago bought a Dodge Minivan even though I knew they had reliability issues with the transmissions. The thing is that we decided to go ahead with buying it but bought the extended warranty. As it turned out, the transmission did fail and was covered under the extended warranty ! That was not all ! The anti-lock brake assembly failed at the first light out of the dealership and they had to take it back for a week ! It failed twice more during the time we owned it which was for about 8 years but Dodge already had a recall on it -parts and labor all the way to 100,000 miles. But the car actually cost us very little during all those years. Warranty, extended warranty and recalls covered most repairs. Just that it was a nuisance having to bring it in every so often for the repair work.

Each person is so different when it comes to purchasing a car. Some would not even consider purchasing a car if the dealer was not located locally and for exactly a reason as was mentioned i this thread, yet, many have reported on this Forum buying a MINI with a dealer that was perhaps more than an hour or two away. So, given a thread like this one concerning past postings and wanting to get calibrated from those that respond, I see this as a fine thing to do. There is no reason really to debate how many percentile actually have this starting issue. I think that one reading the above thread gets a a sort of warm fuzzy that they probably will not have any starting issues with their car but that there is always that chance that this issue or another will show itself. At least you won't be all that surprised if it happens but will feel real good if no issues show up as the months and years pass.

 

2008 MCCS, 6speed, 27000+ miles, and not ONE problem (yet)